Essay #66: Fun with Photoshop

After over a year of being without editing software, I now have a new computer and a fresh install of CS4! Woohoo! Being without software did teach me a lot of valuable lessons and made me realize how easy it is to be lazy and take bad pictures with the intent to "fix" them in post-processing. That said, Photoshop does have some fun toys.

For example, I can take this portrait

And turn it into a lovely black and white (which I like better)

Or do some "special effects" 

Although, with this kind of effect, less is more, in my opinion. It works better with small splashes of color than large swaths. 

 Like so. 

Do you have a favorite Photoshop effect?

Essay #65: Fireworks on a windy night

I don't dabble much in the abstract. But fireworks + high winds =

Essay #64: Fun with backlight

Who says portrait lighting has to be traditional?

Yes, those are the bridesmaids waiting patiently in the chairs while I got the bride in position. I wanted to achieve a kind of light silhouette on the bride, so I had her stand on the edge of the stage and I turned around to face the lights. Result?

There's a little bit of glare on the floor in the background, but overall I think it's a cool picture.

Essay #63: Lost in the shuffle

I took some pictures a couple of weeks ago on a trip back up to Wisconsin and dumped them on my hard drive sight unseen. I never do this. I often do stumble across photos I'd forgotten about (in fact, I recently found photos from not one, but two downhere concerts that I never uploaded anywhere), but I've at least looked at them before. Tonight, while putting files into folders, I realized that I need to pay better attention to what I've got and not just dump them and move on. Because otherwise I'm prone to miss things like this, and the learning opportunities that they present.

Essay #62: Peaches

I went to the farmer's market on Saturday in search of fresh spinach to make a salad for dinner. To my great disappointment, there was not a single leaf to be found. However, one vendor had something I'd never seen in a Wisconsin market:

Peaches! Fresh, warm, and juicy. The perfect summertime treat.

Essay #61: Time to play!

Summer just seems more relaxed than winter. It's time for everyone to get out and play!

Take a walk in the grass.

Get started on your summer reading list.

Laugh

And enjoy life with a good friend!

Essay #60: Summer's sweet

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions (and do keep adding them!). A couple of you mentioned trying a summer theme. Summer is in full swing here, and you know what that means: the farmer's market!

Mmm, strawberries...

I decided to explore the area farmer's market this weekend, and I was a bit surprised to find it significantly more stocked with goods than produce - especially since this is, after all, a predominantly agricultural region - and not a single cheese curd to be found. But I did find these gorgeous strawberries, one of my favorite summertime delights. I wonder if there are any pick-your-own strawberry patches around here?